#Share the Gift
Welcome to the Johnson Family Annual Christmas letter. After spending a lot of time agonizing over this letter, I realized that probably no one will read it anyway, so I ought to just stop worrying. But you took time to stop by, and we appreciate it. Thank you for taking time to show you care about us.
Leigh occasionally quotes a line from a David Gilmore song: "Thinking we're getting older and wiser, but really, we're just getting old." That line has been going through my mind a lot lately. But I hope we've learned a thing or two this year.
Alex, our second-grader, has improved his reading skills dramatically, and he's learned to love reading on his own. He has also learned some new tricks in soccer, how to trade Pokemon cards, and how to ride a ripstick. His sisters have taught him a couple of songs he can play on the piano. To talk to him, you would guess that he believes he pretty much has life figured out.
Amy, our fifth-grader, has been learning long division. She has also learned some new martial arts moves, and is now a "senior green belt." She's learning to take greater responsibility for getting herself ready and for getting her homework done. She taught herself to play "In Dreams" on the piano (a song from Lord of the Rings). If you talk to Amy, make sure you have plenty of time, because she has lots to say.
Laura is now in 7th grade and has learned how to navigate the halls of junior high school. She has learned that braces do not keep her from eating any of her favorite foods. She has learned to play several songs by ear on the piano, how to shoot an arrow into the center of a target, and some awesome new soccer moves. If you talk to Laura, you'll probably have to ask her to speak up, because she tends to be a little shy.
Callie is probably the big winner on learning this year--she learned enough to graduate from high school as class salutatorian. She has learned how to get a job, how to live on her own, how to deal with roommates, and how to survive college. She is learning to manage her anxiety and depression, and she has learned that she wants to serve a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints--which she plans to do at the end of this school year. Between now and then, she'll be serving in the Relief Society presidency in her ward. You probably will have to schedule an appointment to talk to Callie. She's pretty busy.
Leigh has learned some things about tiling, as he's worked to make our bathroom downstairs usable. He's becoming an expert in trapping gophers, and he's learning more tricks that are going to turn him into a real runner (translation: he's training to run a marathon). He's also learned a lot about service as the ward clerk. He'll probably be too worn out to do much talking.Deborah is learning how to entertain a houseful of boys as cub scout den leader. She's learned a few sewing hints, a few gardening hints, and a few household organization hints. She's also learned how much fun it is to watch her kids use their creativity since they started being "unplugged" during the week. Mostly, she's learned that most of the things she worries about don't really matter. If you want to talk to Deborah, please call, because she hasn't learned how to text very well.
On our family vacation to San Diego,
we learned that 6 people can spend 24 hours a day together for 5 days in close quarters
and get on every nerve in each others' bodies, and still have fun.
A lesson we learned from our tour while visiting the Mormon Battalion Visitors Center is that, many times the things that seem like obstacles keeping us from our goals, are really stepping stones to a better destination the Lord has planned for us.
We feel blessed to have wonderful friends and family in our lives who have taught us to much, who have stayed in touch, and have enriched our lives. And we feel very blessed to arrive at this Christmas season with a firm conviction that He whose birth we celebrate is the Savior of the world, our Redeemer, and our Exemplar. May we all feel the true joy of Christmas this year and
Share the Gift.
Love, the Johnsons: Leigh, Deborah, Callie, Laura, Amy & Alex
we learned that 6 people can spend 24 hours a day together for 5 days in close quarters
and get on every nerve in each others' bodies, and still have fun.
A lesson we learned from our tour while visiting the Mormon Battalion Visitors Center is that, many times the things that seem like obstacles keeping us from our goals, are really stepping stones to a better destination the Lord has planned for us.
We feel blessed to have wonderful friends and family in our lives who have taught us to much, who have stayed in touch, and have enriched our lives. And we feel very blessed to arrive at this Christmas season with a firm conviction that He whose birth we celebrate is the Savior of the world, our Redeemer, and our Exemplar. May we all feel the true joy of Christmas this year and Share the Gift.
Love, the Johnsons: Leigh, Deborah, Callie, Laura, Amy & Alex
